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My 3 y/o insists on using nothing but the flouride-free Little Bear toothpaste...

Since moving into our new home out in the boonies 1 1/2 yrs ago, I've been getting used to little differences from living in the 'burbs. Like well water instead of city water. I didn't think about it but my Dentist said that we may all need to get a prescription for flouride since it's likely not in our well water. That had me thinking now that DD#1 is a little older. I was trying to get her to use "bigger kid" toothpaste that has flouride included, not the baby toothpaste without it. Oh. My. GOSH the meltdown we had. She insists every toothpaste she tries EXCEPT Little Bear toothpaste is the most disgusting thing she's ever put in her mouth and she just SOBS when I try to get her to brush her teeth with anything else. We've tried EVERYTHING - Colgate Spongebob toothpaste - no. That line of kid's toothpaste has 2 different flavors, I believe, bubble gum and sparkle fruit something or other... both are unacceptable to her and will result in foaming at the mouth gurgles trying to spit the flavor out. (ugh.) I've tried the watermelon flavor Colgate too, which she DID like before... but now she doesn't. I think she's just being difficult. It is aggravating because I KNOW that she LOVES to gargle with my non-alcoholic mouthwash, so I ended up buying her PLAIN OLD SCHOOL Crest, it has a mild minty flavor - just like the mouthwash. Won't do it. How do I get flouride into my girl without having to go as far as a Rx? Am I worrying too much? How big a deal is this?

I didn't find that that baby toothpaste (or ANY of the kids toothpastes) actually got the teeth clean looking enough for me. I mixed the toothpastes and eventually just got away from the bear...Don't let her SEE you put the toothpaste on...say, "Oh, they must have changed the ingredients...(eventually she might understand this)...Brush them twice...let her brush with the stronger toothpaste 1st and then if she does it nicely, she can have the bear to get the taste out. My three year old fights me - we started counting while we brushed. ONE>>>TWO>>>THREE on one section...but the count would get longer and longer in between so that I could brush for longer. No we count to TEN on each section and I get stuck on NINE sometimes and she tries to tell me the next number - and laughs because she can't say TEN with a mouth full of paste! They are both good spitters so the dentist said it was fine to use adult strength at their age.

I wouldn't worry about it at all. There is a lot of negativity surrounding fluoride these days, it is a toxin. I use fluoride free toothpaste, so does my daughter, we live in the woods, with only well water. Also, when we go to the dentist I don't allow them to use fluoride treatments on my daughter or me. Research it, there is al of info on dangers of fluoride these days. Your daughter probably recognizes it's not good for her body, that's why she doesn't like it...Let me know if you have any questions.

Little tastebuds are really sensitive. The mint flavor that is refreshing to you actually hurts her mouth. Same goes for most adult-strength toothpastes. At her age, she doesn't need much flouride, and many recent studies have found that it actually doesn't do anything for kids' teeth. Too much flouride is very bad for a child, causing anything from gastrointestinal problems to abnormal bone growth to cardiac arrest. I wouldn't worry about not having the flouride. Just brush as you normally would, and I doubt you'll see any difference between unflouridated and flouridated toothpaste. The reason they do not flouridate toddler's toothpastes is because flouride is just that....poisonous. It's very easy for a toddler to overdose.